Following a string of July 2019 exclusive full band album launch shows which took place in Leeds and London, it was time for KAISER CHIEFS to take the show on the road to promote their latest long player DUCK. Tonight saw the band on stage, spreading their merry wares to the people of Plymouth. For a cold January Monday night, it was absolutely packed, testament to the fact that Ricky Wilson et al have still got what it takes to draw a strong crowd. As with any tour to promote new material, I feared that people would rather they just knock out a ‘Greatest Hits’ set to keep them happy, would it be like this tonight? only time would tell.

Opening the evening’s entertainment was a Hull based alt/punk quartet called LIFE, from the get go, I knew that I had seen them before but could I remember where? Could I heck! I WOULD find out before the
end of the night.

They performed an intense set, motorick beats, stabbing guitar, bass guitar laced with elements of pure punk which transgressed to a more funk feel as they went from song to song. The unpredictable angular shapes
that the front man was throwing on stage bought back memories of an early 90’s Jarvis Cocker and late 70’s Ian Curtis. It’s not every day you get to see a band that you just KNOW will be moving on to greater things very soon and for me, LIFE made my evening.

I caught up with them after their set and I found out that they were heading off to play at SXSW in March and support IDLES at some of their shows in America. It was here that I interjected and said that I’d seen
them before and after a couple of minutes, throwing ideas into the ring, we agreed it was at a show in London, The Village Underground to be precise in late 2017 where they supported IDLES. I purchased a copy of their latest long player, they kindly signed it and away I went, back to my seat for the next act to take to the stage.

RAZORLIGHT have always been a band that have interested me but not to the point where I’ve ever made a beeline to buy tickets and see them live, I may have seen them at a festival a few years back but then again…..

Tonight saw Johnny Borrell, the only surviving member of the original lineup, fronting his band in front of a near capacity audience. ‘In The Morning’ received a great response from the crowd, Borrell looking fresh
faced and raring to go, his energy levels rarely dropping throughout the entire set.

’Golden Touch’, led the audience into a mass sing-a-long midway through and sounded as fresh today as it did when it was first released and it took me back to younger, more carefree times (yes folks, I was once
young and carefree!)

Their set spanned their back catalogue with tracks from each album released to date and it was the injection of one called ‘Vice’, lifted from their latest long player Olympus Sleeping which made me take notice. Its killer chorus and rhythm carried you along for the ride, classic Razorlight!

‘I Can’t Stop This Feeling I Got’ kicked off with brooding synths prior to bursting into life when the chorus kicked in. ‘In The City’ sounded like it could have been performed by Patti Smith in the late 70’s, I was ready to wager good money that they may swing into a version of ‘GLORIA’ in the same vein as Smith would have belted out in her heyday.

Surprise tracks for me included ‘Don’t Go Back to Dalston’ which saw the whole band come to life and really give it 110% throughout the performance. ‘Somewhere Else’ reminded me of early Boomtown Rats, I wonder if
they were ever an influence on Johnny?

The opening guitar notes of ‘America’ rang out around the arena and up popped a sea of smartphones, ready to capture the moment complete with shaky camera work and tinny sound, oh well, you can’t win them all! I on the other hand, decided to sit back and let the song wash over me whilst the rest of the room were frantically texting their friends and updating social media. I think ‘America’ is one of my favourite songs by Razorlight and has to be up there with the likes of Wonderwall as a song to play to a prospective
partner to woo them between the sheets (sorry Noel!)

With 2 out of 3 bands done and dusted, the stage was awash with roadies (are they still called that? – probably called stage technicians nowadays) as they set up the props and risers for the main act of the evening.

I tried to find some information on why the new album is called DUCK but the only explanation
I could find is that the band wanted to go with something completely random, this they did!

As vintage fairground music filled the arena, people bustled in from the bar, drinks refreshed, ready for the final leg of tonight’s musical journey.

Up went a roar as the veil dropped, revealing the band stood on what I can only describe as a small building with a ‘DUCK’ sign hanging down (again, no idea….). They launched into the opening track from their latest
album ‘People Know How to Love One Another’ which saw a reasonable response from the capacity crowd.

New album or not, tonight was always going to be about the classics and once the band had climbed down from atop of the building, Ricky asked the room if they were up for a sing-a-long and saw the room erupt like a dormant volcano firing into life once again as the band performed ‘Na Na Na Na Naa’.

Paper cannons exploded as they fired straight into ‘Everything is Average Nowadays’ which again saw a huge response from the audience. Ricky disappeared after ‘Parachutes’ and popped up a moment or two later on a stage situated at the back of the building, where, with a hand held camera, beamed his face onto the backdrop whilst he knocked out a killer version of ‘Target Market’, another new one from DUCK.

A lady with a sparkly top was invited up onto the mini stage with Ricky to choose the next track, she did this by playing a game of ‘hook-a-duck’, the result was ‘Thank You Very Much’ from their second album Yours Truly, Angry Mob.

Ricky fought his way back to the stage to rejoin the band as the classics started to flow, ‘Everyday I Love you less and Less’ was closely followed by ‘Ruby’ which saw the levels of enthusiasm topped up around the
room, even folk on the balcony were on their feet for this one! ‘Modern Way’ took me back to the mid noughties whilst ‘Never Miss a Beat’ filled the room with strobe lighting as Ricky launched himself from podiums, never standing still for a second.

After a short break which saw them towelling themselves off sat on top of the ‘DUCK’ building, they played ‘Record Collection’, another new one which featured a great electro styled groove, something we’re not so
familiar with from the band. ‘Hole in My Soul’ followed, featuring a very playful tune and a chorus catchier than the common cold.  Closing the show with their debut track from 2004/5, ‘Oh My God’ saw paper cannons, streamers, smoke and strobes flying all about the arena, sending the audience into a fit as the show came to an end.

It’s been a couple of years since I saw the Kaisers live, I can honestly say that they show no signs of slowing down, even after 20 year of being in the business!

DUCK is available to buy and stream NOW.

Setlist

1. People Know How to Love One Another

2. Na Na Na Na Naa

3. Everything Is Average Nowadays

4. The Factory Gates

5. Parachute

6. Target Market

7. Thank You Very Much [Hook a Duck]

8. Coming Home

9. Northern Holiday

10. Everyday I Love You Less and Less

11. Ruby

12. Modern Way

13. Don't Just Stand There, Do Something

14. Never Miss a Beat

15. I Predict a Riot

16. The Angry Mob

17. Record Collection

18. Hole in My Soul

19. Oh My God

Review by Steve Muscutt

Photography by Julian Baird